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Fraser Seitel, author of my favorite acadamia-intended PR textbook, answers the question that many others, especially those working in the media, are wondering: Why Do PR professionals have a hard time writing?
Mark Ragan from Ragan Communications also points out the common practice of bad writing among PR folks in his article, “Why is PR writing so atrocious?”
But why are so many PR professionals bad writers? Why don’t they take the time to hone their writing skills? Ragan points out the main reasons for bad writing: laziness and ignorance.
Some PR professionals developed these bad habits before they even entered the job market:
“None of the kids hired by the agencies and billed out at $150 an hour have the slightest idea what they’re writing about. They don’t understand the product or the client. They have no background in the industry, and they never learned how to write in college.”
Ragan says a lot of PR pros use a 1-2 punch style to their writing, using the template/ buzzword method to get the job done. However, writing like this typically lacks major punch to their prose.
Template
(name of company) the leading solutions provider for the (name of industry) announces the appointment/ purchase of/ merger/ etc of (name of another company) the leading provider of (name of product or service).
Buzzwords
You simply highlight the word with your cursor, hit “enter” and the word is inserted into various spots throughout the release. The column includes all of the old standbys, including our friends “Thought Leadership” (in all caps of course); “connectivity,” “global,” “forward thinking,” “vision,” “strategic,” and “influencers.”
Ragan shows his frustrations with a press release from Ruder Finn, exclaiming, “Of course the template is there in all of its glory, as it is with six out of 10 press releases I came across during my whiskey-aided research.”
CHICAGO, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Ruder Finn, Inc., a leading independent full-service global communications agency, today announced that it has been appointed global PR agency for Alterian, plc—the leading global enterprise marketing platform provider.
Rants like these from people I admire, such as Seitel and Ragan, serve as a wakeup call to students and professionals alike. Any young PR professional or pre-pro will have an advantage if they have developed their writing skills from the get-go and get relevant writing/ editing experience early on in their career.
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Comments
02.04.10
Nice post, and good topic.
Thx for the information you've post.
I'm very enjoyed visiting and reading you'r blog, coz you'r post always uptodate.
Thx.
02.04.10
that's a pretty good article. I enjoyed the video too.
I am currently a PR of an organization and would like to continue developing myself. What's the book written by Fraser Seitel called?
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